Liam Payne was just 14 when he first auditioned for The X Factor in 2008. It was where he would first meet singer Cheryl Cole, who was a judge. Cheryl found Liam adoring and admired his voice, but it wouldn't be until nearly a decade later that these two would strike up a romance.
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Liam and Cheryl's relationship was short-lived, but they did welcome a son together named Bear in March 2017. The former couple maintained an amicable co-parenting relationship. In 2023, the former One Direction singer even thanked his ex for watching over their son and allowing him time to get better following personal struggles.
In October, Liam died after falling from a hotel balcony in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He was 31.
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8 Liam Payne Auditions For The X Factor In 2008
Cheryl Cole Is A Judge For The First Time In Season 5
In 2008, Liam Payne was seeking out stardom. Liam was 14 when he auditioned for Season 5 of the British TV series The X Factor. That season, the judges were made up of Simon Cowell, Louis Walsh, Dannii Minogue, and Cheryl Cole, who replaced Sharon Osbourne.
Liam sang Frank Sinatra's "Fly Me to the Moon" during his audition. He impressed all the judges with his rendition and even charmed Cheryl with a wink. After singing, Cheryl shared, "I think you're really cute, I think you've got charisma, you know you give us that cheeky wink."
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Liam did not go far during that season and was cut by Simon during the Judges' Houses rounds. However, the judge wanted to see Liam return in two years to see if he had improved.
7 Liam Returns To The X Factor Where Cheryl Is Still A Judge In 2010
One Direction Is Formed This Season
In 2010, Liam kept his promise and returned to audition for Season 7 of The X Factor. Cheryl also returned as a judge. During his audition, which was in front of a live audience, Liam sang Michael Bublé's version of "Cry Me A River," showcasing his singing chops to another jazz song. Thanks to his lovely voice and boyish charm, he did extremely well and got a yes from each judge, including Cheryl.
Although Liam was planning on a solo singing career, he would be put into a group with Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Zayn Malik, and Louis Tomlinson and formed One Direction. The boy band came in third in Season 7. However, One Direction would end up becoming one of the best-selling boy bands of all time, and have been compared to The Beatles.
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6 Liam And Cheryl Reconnect In 2015
The Two Reunited In 2015 On The X Factor
One Direction became a global sensation. Before they broke up in 2016, the remaining four men (Zayn Malik left the group in early 2015) sang their song, "History" during the finale of The X Factor Season 12. It would be the final single released by the group before they took their indefinite hiatus.
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Cheryl was a judge that year and, along with the rest of the judges, watched One Direction perform their song. After their performance, she embraced Liam on stage, but fans did not think anything of it.
5 Liam And Cheryl Make Their Red Carpet Debut In 2016
Rumors Swirled That Liam And Cheryl Began Dating At The Start Of 2016
According to Us Weekly, just a month after Cheryl Cole filed for divorce from her husband Jean-Bernard Fernandez-Versini, she was rumored to be dating Liam. The pair made waves because of their 10-year age difference.
In May 2016, they made their red carpet debut as a couple at the Global Gift Gala in Paris, France. That same night, Liam took to X (formerly known as Twitter) to honor Cheryl after she was given the Global Gift Philanthropist Award.
"So proud of her tonight such a special award," Liam wrote alongside a selfie with Cheryl.
As the Daily Mail reported, Liam admitted that it ws his One Direction bandmate Niall Horan and Simon Cowell who were responsible for playing matchmaker. During a guest appearance on The Graham Morton Show, he shared, "I told Simon how hot I thought she was. Weeks and months went by and then Niall said, 'You'll never guess who fancies you!'"
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4 The Former Couple Welcome A Son In 2017
Cheryl Gives Birth To The Couples' Son Bear In March 2017
Liam and Cheryl became parents for the first time when they welcomed a son named Bear on March 22, 2017. They announced the birth of their son on Instagram. According to Us Weekly, in a now removed Instagram post, Liam shared the joyous news:
"I'm incredibly happy to welcome our new baby boy into the world. It's a moment that I will never forget for the rest of my life and my favorite memory I have so far. I'm completely in awe of his incredible mother and how she has been the whole way through this, she's really made my dreams come true."
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3 Liam And Cheryl Split In July 2018
The Pair Amicably Co-Parented Their Son
Just over a year after welcoming Bear into the world, Liam took to X to share that he and Cheryl came to the mututal decision to split.
The former couple amicably co-parented their son, Bear. In 2019, Cheryl spoke to The Telegraph about how they master parenting differently, with Cheryl being the "strict one."
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"[Liam] is so much softer than me. But it is what it is, and I'm OK about it. When you have a baby, you are not consumed with just thinking about yourself. It's your responsibility to keep things settled and happy, so you make the best of everything. And we have."
In 2022, the singer told People that he had regular visits with his son. "I see him two times a week, three times a week sometimes. And I make sure that when I see him, he has 100 percent of my time."
Although They Began To Date Other People, Liam And Cole Still Spent Time Together
After Liam and Cheryl broke up, he began to date YouTuber Maya Henry. However, he and his ex continued to have a respectful relationship for the sake of their young son. In December 2019, the 1D singer shared on the ITV show This Morning, that he was going to spend Christmas with Bear and Cheryl.
"I'm going to go down and see Bear, maybe cook Christmas dinner and just hang out with the family. I like to do Sunday roasts. It brings you back to normality. We're going to go down and cook some good food and hang out."
The following year, Liam wrote a sweet tribute to Cheryl for Mother's Day in the U.K on X:
"Double special day thanks to 2 very special ladies and a very special little man... Happy Mother's Day mum and Cheryl you two are the most amazing mothers Bear and I could have asked for, thanks for raising me right and thank you Cheryl for showing my son all the love in the world."
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1 Liam Thanks Cheryl For Allowing Him To Recover After a 100 Day Rehab Stay
The Singer Was Dealing With Personal Struggles And Thanked His Ex In A YouTube Video In 2023
In July 2023, Liam uploaded a YouTube video explaining why he had stepped away from the spotlight to focus on getting better after struggling with substance abuse. Liam checked himself into a rehabilitation facility in the U.S. where he stayed for 100 days.
In his video, Liam touchingly thanked Cheryl for taking care of their son while he was away.
"More than anything, I want to say thank you to [Bear] and his mum for giving me a little bit of freedom to go and get well in that moment because I had to." He added, "There's no point trying to be a dad when you've got nothing to teach and I don't think up until this point I really had much to say to him other than just caring for him very deeply and loving him deeply, which is obviously the most important thing."
In August 2024, it was announced that Liam was to join Nicole Scherzinger and Kelly Rowland in Netflix's new reality singing competition series Building the Band. However, there is no word on what the future holds for the show after Liam's death.
Liam Payne
Stay up to date with our coverage of Liam Payne by reading our latest articles that feature him and topics surrounding his life and death.
- Birthname
- Liam James Payne
- Birthdate
- August 29, 1993
- Birthplace
- Wolverhampton, West Midlands
- Members
- Children: Bear Payne (shared with Cheryl Cole)
- Notable Allies
- One Direction
- Current Promotion
- One Direction
- Deathdate
- October 16, 2024
- Height
- 5'10"
- @LiamPayn
- @liampayne
- Siblings
- Nicola Payne and Ruth Gibbins
- Parents
- Karen and Geoff Payne
- Profession
- Reality TV Star
- Net worth
- $70,000,000
- Professions
- Musician
- Source of Wealth
- Music career and various business ventures
- Nationality
- British
